When will the cherry blossoms bloom?

Cherry blossoms have a special place in our hearts here at Aston Norwood Gardens, with our annual Blossom Valley festival attracting visitors far and wide. Cherry blossoms themselves have a much longer history, playing an important role in Japanese culture for thousands of years. Over this time, predicting when the trees will blossom has been a yearly nationwide activity.

​But how do we predict when exactly the trees will blossom? Mostly, we don't. Cherry blossom timing is highly dependent on the weather leading up to, and during, the blossoming period. But, we can tell roughly when the blossoms will be coming out by paying particular attention to the progression of the tree buds through 7 specific stages.


Stage 1 - Green Buds
​The buds are awakening but are in an early stage. Food is being drawn from the roots into the buds in preparation for the coming blossom. At this stage the buds are still well protected from the environment. Buds can stay this way for an extended period of time, highly dependent on the local weather conditions, with warm weather speeding the process along and cool weather extending the time spent in this early green bud stage.

​Stage 2 - Florets Visible 
The buds swell up and the florets become evident at the tips. The buds still retain their green colour for now, creating the energy required to blossom. They are now approximately 20 days from peak bloom though extended warm periods can make this period as short as 12 days.

Stage 3 - Extension of Florets
As the buds swell even more, individual florets become evident, each of which will turn into a pink cherry blossom in the coming weeks. At this stage it is not uncommon to start seeing shades of pink, especially on the tips of the florets.

​Stage 4 - Peduncle Elongation
Florets extend fully out of the bud, with the peduncle (the small green stalk attaching the flowers to the branch)  becoming apparent. At this stage individuals flowers can be seen and have most of their soft pink colouration. The blossoms are now extremely vulnerable to the environment. An extended cold snap or deep frost at this stage can spell disaster for the years blossoms. This stage signals 10 – 14 days till peak bloom.

​Stage 5 - Puffy Blossoms
Individual florets begin to open, showing fluffy pink petals. Though not yet fully open, we are now only 4-5 days from peak bloom. At this stage, the gardens begin to appear pink throughout and makes for a beautiful spectacle for visitors.

​Stage 6 - Peak Bloom
The flowers are fully open, creating a magical spectacle throughout the gardens. Each area of the garden reaches full bloom at a slightly different time, depending on how warm the area is. Peak bloom typically lasts 1-2 weeks depending on the weather with cold spells extending the blooming period and warm spells or heavy rain shortening it.

​Stage 7 - Petal Fall
Often forgotten, but extremely important, petal fall represents the ending of the blossom season. Though the tree’s have lost their lustre, the falling petals form a beautiful, soft pink carpet underfoot, and provide an opportunity to reminisce on the frailty, fragility, and fleetingness of life and its beauty.

​Throughout August and September we keep an eye on the buds to see which stage they are at allowing us to predict roughly when peak bloom dates will be (though we are never 100% accurate). Keep an eye on our facebook pages to see when the blossoms are going to be looking their best this year and let us know when you think peak bloom will be.